Quite Rather Like
by FrankandJoe3
Summary: Alice finds something she quite rather likes in Wonderland. Alice/MH


**This is my only Alice in Wonderland fic. I wrote it in Communication Arts last year and we took our folders home today. I was looking through my old stuff and found a crappy version of this that I quite rather liked it, so I just edited it up a little bit. I didn't write it in their accents because I know nothing of their accents. It's not in character because I know very little of their characters. I just really love seeing Alice paired with the Mad Hatter and I felt I needed an extra category under my username on my profile. I apologize that this isn't the best Alice in Wonderland fic you've ever read, but I pray it to not be the worst… **

**Disclaimer: Alice in Wonderland and all of its lovely characters do not belong to me, but I suppose I'm glad they don't because that would simply be too much to handle.**

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Even in the midnight hours, the White Queen's castle glowed near as bright as the crescent moon that cast its shadow out over the blonde girl upon the balcony. The pure white of the walls behind her that stretched far higher than her head could reach were like a mini moon upon the earth itself, reflecting the real moon's reflected light out onto the lands. It traced everything in its glow; from the plants in the garden of white to her far west all the way to the dark ocean that was just barely visible beyond the hilltops in the _far _north. From her spot, resting with her elbows on the railing and her ankles crossed out behind her, she could see nothing of this ocean, but she knew what it was doing.

The navy waves were surely cold and merciless, beating down on the sand and dragging it back with it, taking anything that got in the way out with it. Unsuspecting seashells, quaint talking animals and even little bottles reading, 'Drink Me!' in a heavy cursive were pulled off into the black depths, their fate settling them along the ocean floor nearer to the Red Queen's awful abode. It would be a horrible fate to have, the blonde decided, your last dying vision being that of the treacherous dark castle where nothing but cruelty and fear run through the veins of those that reside within its walls. Mind you, the poor souls inside the walls couldn't be seen by these dying eyes, but they were and suffering most definitely.

The souls, the ones whose lives had been rudely robbed of them, would never again see the White Castle's glory. They'd never again feel the warmth of the White Queen's smile, or the happiness that came with her joyous laughter. They'd never look up at the balcony and see the beauty of the chosen one as she leaned down against the rail, her blonde hair billowing away from her face in the light winds, the fabric of her light blue gown billowing out around her thighs and the spindles that kept her from falling straight to the ground below.

Alice wasn't quite sure why she wasn't in her room in the castle where she could be curled up beneath the blankets, drowned in the warmth of her thoughts instead of standing outside in the mild cold of the night. It wasn't freezing, but the winds had summoned faint goose bumps to her pale skin which suddenly looked ivory from the glows that surrounded her. She wasn't even thinking now, as she stood alone in these late sunless hours. The blonde was simply enjoying the silence, glad to be from all of the drama coming from the figments of her imagination. Surely none of this was real! It was all so impossible, improbable, confirming her suspicions of being asleep.

Her blue eyes were wide though, as open as they could be, scanning the land for anyone or anything that could disrupt the sleep of the rest of the residents. Just because she couldn't sleep didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy the slumber that she was dreaming up for them. Once she awoke, rid of them all, she'd feel sorrow in knowing her exhaustion now was for absolutely nothing! They couldn't be real, could they? Cats can't talk! Elixirs can't make you shrink! Pastries can't make you grow! Flowers surely couldn't tease and cards couldn't run in rectangle suits of armors! This was a perfect demented little land, so mad that she found herself quite rather liking it.

Her liking stopped a moment when quiet footsteps pricked at her ears, causing her to twirl around her fast, her dress and hair spiraling and falling flat when she paused. The slightest twitch of fear in her heart was vanished when she recognized the deformed top hat and the wiry red hair. A grin lit up her pretty face, exposing her perfect teeth, a happy tint darkening her cheeks at the sight of her friend.

"Hatter!" she greeted him in a lovely English accent, leaning with her elbows on the railing again, her face towards him.

The fiery-haired man returned her grin, a bit more insane in its make-up, his neon green eyes wide and excited. He happily walked beside her, copying her pose, keeping his eyes on her. He was feeling simply mad, the fun kind that involves random giggles and senseless chatter that made not a tad lick of sense, seeing that sense had no tongue to lick with in the first place. Ideas of the craziest origin brewed inside the cauldron of his mind, the steam slowly choking the last bit of insanity from the depths of his soul, exciting him on topics that would make others fidget nervously.

"Alice," he returned, raising his eyebrows only as her name left his lips, resting them down again once he turned his mind to the contents of the magical pot inside his head. "Are you still convinced this is world is but one in your head?"

Alice blinked in confusion at his question, cocking her head to the side for a moment before she stopped thinking straight. She was in a mad world, full of things she quite rather liked with their insanities; why should she think in her normal ways? She thought crooked to herself, twisting her logic until she decided upon a translation that pleased her aching mind.

"Are you asking if I think I'm in a dream?" she verified, raising an eyebrow carefully.

The Hatter pursed his lips, his eyes distantly staring at the air beside her face, her blonde curls blurring his peripherals, thinking hard for a moment.

"I don't know," he sounded truly befuddled, his eyebrows furrowed. "_Is _that what I'm asking?"

Alice giggled behind her fingers, her smile near as shy as her gaze. Her cheeks held a faint pink tone, one somehow hidden despite the brightness of the reflections that held her near as tight as her bow. She leaned towards him, resting her head on his arm for a moment, gazing up at his ivory skin with innocent eyes. Her eyes seemed to draw his own down, the neon meeting light with a surprised jump. That only brought forth another giggle from her pink lips, widening his eyes before drawing a higher-toned chuckle past his grin.

"Well, if it is what you're asking…" she lightly lifted her head, crossing her ankles calmly, turning her gaze to the darkened sky above. "I think I'd say yes. This whole world… it's far too perfect to be real, so it simply cannot be."

Her eyes saddened, turning down to the three parallel cuts through her arm, the ones that no longer felt pain but decorated her flesh colorfully nonetheless. Pale fingers skimmed over it, happy to feel that her skin was smooth again, the grooves seeming to have filled with the disappearance of the pain. It was almost as if someone had ran over her skin with paints without her notice, a notion that made her nearly lick her fingers to rub it off.

'_Oh, I'm becoming as mad as the land!_ _How horrid, Alice!' _she grimaced at the thought, returning her gaze to the night, her distasteful frown fading fast.

"When I awake… I'll never see any of this again!"

Her eyes were far from the earth, so Alice failed to see the Mad Hatter drop his happiness straight to the floor at his feet. He touched a hand to his hat, to make sure it wouldn't drop too, a frown settling over his lips.

"You… you sound so happy about never seeing me again," is what he took from her words, his heart starting to fall to join his happiness.

Alice's eyes widened and she hurried, catching the frail muscle and cupping it in her hands, setting it back into his chest by simply setting her hand to his arm, smiling innocently up at him. The apology was written heavy over her dainty features, near as noticeable as her discomfort in the heels she had temporarily donned out of curiosity earlier that night. She was a few inches taller now, but her soles were killing her.

"No! Don't be silly! I love you… in a dream-world sort of way. I'm awfully sad you _aren't _real," she assured him, restoring his grin to full size in an instant.

It could've been from how tight his hat was, but an idea sprang fast to his mind, one that even _he _deemed to be too mad to present before the perfect doll beside him. He set it off to the side, cocking his head to the side with curious eyes.

"What if I am real, though?"

Alice pulled her lips off to the side, thinking with her eyes up at the heavens. She tried making sense of the land that embraced her now and how it could possibly blend into the one that she had been raised in. If the red-haired man before her was real, that would mean this land of wonder was too, hinting that the scholars had been lying to the people for many years now! Everything they had said wasn't possible, she had seen in the past two days! And how would she get home from here?

"Then I'd… I'd be happy," her cheeks darkened a bit, laughing softly at the happiness the thought brought, "I quite rather like you!"

The idea that had been pushed off suddenly in mad hands, delicately held, seemed as normal as a marijuana addicted caterpillar. An ivory grinned widened to a weight that the Cheshire cat would be proud of, the happiness clear beneath the brim of his head.

"And I quite rather like you!" the Mad Hatter returned, moving closer, "… And _if _I was real… and I quite rather liked you… could I… perhaps… do this?"

The Hatter touched a hand to her cheek, leaning in faintly until just their noses brushed ever so barely, his green eyes staring against the backs of her eyelids. Long eyelashes nearly tickled his cheeks, just barely ghosting over his blush, his grin shrinking down to a shy smile. Alice was quite impatient, seeing that she recognized this as the part in the dream where she always awoke, leaning forward and lightly pressing her lips to his. She touched their smiles together, butterflies frantically swarming at the touch, wanting to melt to the floor by his feet. The one with the darkest hair let his eyes fall shut, lightly curling his fingers around her hair, moving his lips just lightly.

They pulled back fast, both with averted eyes and heavy blushes, their stomachs both fluttering about excitedly without them. Alice touched a hand to her neck, the black paint to her nails somehow still perfectly intact despite the recent 48 hours that had encircled her consciousness.

"Why… yes. I do believe… _if _you were real… and you quite rather liked me… you could do that."

Her voice was breathless, her frail hand moving to rest over her hammering heart, missing how quickly the grin spread back over the Mad Hatter's lips. Maybe he wasn't so terribly mad; or at least no madder than she was.

"Too bad then, Alice m'dear," a deep voice purred in her ear, causing her to jump. "It seems for such a pretty young thing such as yourself… you'll end up alone with a cat…"

Blonde curls spun fast with the trim of a blue skirt, falling to her back in gentle bounces as she found herself looking into the fuchsia colored fur ghosting above her shoulder. The twisted grin brought a gasp to her lips, stumbling her back into the Hatter's arms. The touch made her jump again, bringing laughter from the Cheshire's lips.

"Oh my! B-But you aren't real either!" Alice reminded the cat, her tone light and teasing.

The reminder didn't stop the chuckle, but it did drift him from sight, his voice staying strong in her ears.

"Ah… yes… there is that factor… but it's fun to imagine when you quite rather like something in Wonderland…"

Alice couldn't help but smile, turning her gaze up to the sky, thinking of the echoing words.

"There are so many things though, that I quite rather like here! What am I to imagine?" she pouted lightly, spinning around so she was looking back down over the land, carefully studying the features.

The Mad Hatter copied her, his eyes watching her as he spoke.

"You told me you imagined this whole place… everything from the Queens… to me… so you quite rather like us all, yes?" he grinned oddly, earning her gaze again.

Her pout opened up into a smile, the statement making the most sense to her out of everything she had heard that night. She looked back at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before she straightened up. Alice leaned on her toes, robbing the hat from the redhead's hair, sliding it atop her own head with a grin.

"Yes," she sighed, twirling lightly with the faintest of giggles. "I suppose I do…"

This really was a Wonderland… a perfect world, in almost every way, full of such impossibilities… and now she desperately wished it was real.

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**I do so suck at endings. But it's my birthday so I should get an excuse. Sorry I had to call him Mad Hatter throughout. I hate his real name… same with Cheshire. It's just easier this way for me. Please be nice… anyway… I'm obviously not going to do an Alice fic again. This one was a fail… **

**-F.J. **


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